The R&A have denied a report that the Open Championship will be staged at Royal Portrush in 2018.

Portrush is the only course outside England or Scotland to have staged the Open, with Max Faulkner lifting the Claret Jug there in 1951, and tournament officials have been studying the possibility of a return to the County Antrim venue, which last year successfully staged the Irish Open on the European Tour.

However, an R&A spokesman responded to a story in the Irish Sun claiming Portrush would host the Open in 2018 by saying: "No decision has been made for 2018."

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson admitted earlier this year that Portrush is "a fantastic golf course" - but concerns remain over the infrastructure required to stage a major championship, and Dawson also feels the current nine-course Open rota is "about right".